JP2013257299A - Contact probe, probe card and method for inspecting electronic component - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contact probe which enables high density mounting, is excellent in productivity and has little manufacturing constraint.SOLUTION: A contact probe 10 is a perpendicular contact probe brought into perpendicular contact with an electrode pad of an electronic component, and has a linear shape as a whole and a cross section made of almost quadrilateral metal. The contact probe 10 includes a body part 13 being linear and elastic, a tip part 11 formed at one end side of the body part 13, and a support part 12 formed at the other end side of the body part 13. The tip part 11 has a contact part 101 brought into contact with the electrode pad of the electronic component. The support part 12 has a connection part 102 connected to an inspection device. The tip part 11 is formed shiftedly in a width direction with respect to the body part 13.

Description

  The present invention relates to a contact probe, a probe card, and an electronic component inspection method used for inspection of electronic components.

  Conventionally, probe cards having a large number of contact probes have been used for electrical inspection of electronic components such as semiconductor chips such as ICs and LSIs and liquid crystal devices such as LCDs. During inspection, the tip of the contact probe is brought into contact with the electrode pad of the electronic component and pressed to electrically connect the inspection device and the electronic component via the contact probe, thereby collecting various data from the electronic component. (See Patent Documents 1 to 3).

  The contact probe has a spring function to absorb the variation in the height of the electronic component (electrode pad) or to apply a predetermined contact pressure with the electrode pad to obtain a reliable electrical contact with the electrode pad. Have. The contact probe cantilever is supported by the probe card in a cantilever shape, and is contacted with the electrode pad of the electronic component at an angle. A vertical type that makes vertical contact is known. On the other hand, examples of the electronic component include a peripheral arrangement type in which electrode pads are arranged around the electronic component, and a surface arrangement type in which electrode pads are arranged on the entire surface of the electronic component. In the cantilever type contact probe, since the contact probes are arranged in an oblique direction, it is difficult to arrange a large number of probes so that the probes do not interfere with each other, and it is difficult to cope with the surface arrangement type. On the other hand, in the vertical type contact probe, since the contact probe is arranged in the vertical direction, the degree of freedom of probe layout is high, and by arranging a large number of probes so as to correspond to the arrangement of electrode pads of electronic components, It can correspond to the surface arrangement type. In addition, since the mounting density of the probes can be increased, it is easy to cope with a narrow pitch of the electrode pads.

  In recent years, with the miniaturization and high integration of electronic parts, the pitch of electrode pads has been reduced, and a fine contact probe corresponding to a pitch of, for example, 100 μm or less is required. As a manufacturing method of such a fine contact probe, a manufacturing method by a LIGA (Lithographie Galvanoformung Abformung) method combining lithography and electroforming has been proposed.

JP 2001-343397 A JP 2005-127852 A JP 2008-128882 A

  The conventional vertical contact probe has a curved portion in order to provide a spring function. For example, Patent Document 1 or 3 includes a tip portion that contacts the surface to be measured, a spring portion that is connected to the tip portion, and a support portion that is connected to the spring portion and supports the tip portion and the spring portion. A contact probe is described in which a portion, a spring portion, and a support portion are linearly arranged. The shape of the spring portion is a shape in which a plurality of annular or S-shaped leaf springs are connected in series in the axial direction of the probe. Patent Document 2 discloses a contact having a cantilever-type spring portion and a U-shaped spring portion, and an end portion of the cantilever-type spring portion and an arm portion of the U-shaped spring portion are oriented in opposite directions. A probe is described.

  The conventional contact probe described above has a shape having a curved portion, and has an overall apparent width in plan view. Therefore, the arrangement interval of the probes in the probe card cannot be reduced, the mounting density is limited, and there is a limit to the correspondence to the narrowing of the electrode pad pitch in the electronic component. In addition, when manufacturing by the LIGA method, in the process of forming a resin mold by lithography with respect to the resist formed on the conductive substrate, the plane area of the resist necessary for manufacturing one probe also increases. The yield is low, which causes a decrease in productivity and high cost. Furthermore, since any contact probe has a complicated shape, it is subject to manufacturing restrictions.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and one of its purposes is to provide a contact probe that is capable of high-density mounting, has excellent productivity, and has few manufacturing restrictions. Another object of the present invention is to provide a probe card having this contact probe. Furthermore, the other object of this invention is to provide the inspection method of the electronic component using the said probe card.

  The contact probe of the present invention is used for inspecting an electronic component, and makes contact with the electrode pad of the electronic component perpendicularly to electrically connect the inspection device and the electronic component. The contact probe of the present invention is formed in a linear and elastic body part, a tip part formed on one end side of the body part and having a contact part in contact with the electrode pad, and formed on the other end side of the body part. And a support portion having a connection portion connected to the apparatus. And the front-end | tip part is shifted | deviated to the width direction with respect to the main-body part, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  The probe card of the present invention is used for inspection of electronic components, and a plurality of contact probes are arranged in the vertical direction. The probe card of the present invention includes the above-described contact probe of the present invention, a base plate that vertically supports the contact probe, a guide plate that is arranged in parallel with the base plate at an interval and guides the tip of the contact probe. It is characterized by comprising. The base plate has an insertion hole through which the support portion of the contact probe is inserted and fixed. The guide plate has a guide hole through which an intermediate portion of the main body of the contact probe is slidably inserted.

  According to the contact probe of the present invention, the overall shape is linear, high-density mounting is possible, productivity is high, and manufacturing restrictions are less than that of a conventional contact probe. In addition, the contact probe of the present invention exhibits a spring function by bending the elastic main body when the contact portion is brought into contact with the electrode pad and pressed. In particular, since the tip portion is formed to be shifted in the width direction with respect to the main body portion, the main body portion is easily bent in a direction opposite to the shifting direction of the tip portion, and the bending direction is easily made constant. Here, “the tip is formed so as to be shifted in the width direction with respect to the main body” means that a part of the tip is shifted in the direction perpendicular to the length of the main body with respect to the main body. It means that it is formed so as to be parallel to the extending direction of the length direction.

  In the contact probe of the present invention, the length of the tip is typically 5/100 or less, preferably 3/100 or less, of the length of the main body. Further, the distance between the side surface of the main body portion and the surface on the side where the front end portion is displaced with respect to the main body portion is smaller than the width of the front end portion, and preferably not more than 1/2 of the width of the front end portion. Here, the “side surface of the main body” means a surface located on the same side in the width direction as the side where the tip is displaced.

  According to the probe card of the present invention, by providing the above-described contact probe of the present invention, the mounting density of the probes can be increased, and it is possible to cope with the narrow pitch of the electrode pads. Further, by providing the guide plate, it is possible to prevent the displacement of the tip portion (contact portion) of the contact probe with respect to the electrode pad.

  As one form of the contact probe of the present invention, the side surface on the support portion side of the main body portion has a stopper portion that protrudes in the width direction and abuts against the lower surface of the base plate of the probe card. It is mentioned that it forms in the taper shape so that a width | variety may become narrow toward a part side.

  According to this configuration, when the contact portion of the contact probe is brought into contact with the electrode pad and pressed, the stopper portion comes into contact with the lower surface of the base plate of the probe card, so that the support portion of the contact probe becomes the insertion hole of the base plate. Can be prevented from coming off. Further, since the stopper portion is formed in a tapered shape, when the contact probe is mounted on the probe card, it can be easily inserted from the tip end side of the contact probe into the insertion hole of the base plate.

  As one form of the contact probe of the present invention, it is possible to include an extended portion that protrudes in the width direction with respect to the main body portion and contacts the upper surface of the base plate of the probe card on the side surface of the support portion.

  According to this configuration, when the contact probe is arranged on the probe card, the extension portion contacts the upper surface of the base plate, so that the support portion of the contact probe can be prevented from falling out of the insertion hole of the base plate. Moreover, when it has the above-mentioned stopper part, the support part of a contact probe can be mechanically fixed to a base board by inserting a base board between an extended part and a stopper part.

  One embodiment of the contact probe of the present invention is characterized in that the tip is formed thin with respect to the main body.

  According to this configuration, since the tip portion is thin, the contact portion that comes into contact with the electrode pad becomes sharp, so that it is easy to break through the oxide film formed on the surface of the electrode pad, and the contact between the contact portion and the electrode pad Defects can be reduced.

  As one form of the probe card of the present invention, the base plate and the guide plate are arranged so that the positions of the insertion holes and the corresponding guide holes are aligned in the vertical direction, and the guide plate can move in the horizontal direction. It is mentioned that it is provided.

  According to this configuration, the guide plate is movable in the horizontal direction. When the contact portion of the contact probe is brought into contact with the electrode pad and pressed, the guide plate is displaced in the horizontal direction with respect to the base plate. The main body can be bent flexibly. Moreover, since the direction in which the main body portion bends coincides with the direction of movement of the guide plate and the direction in which each contact probe bends can be reliably aligned in a certain direction, it is possible to prevent adjacent probes from contacting each other.

  As one form of the probe card of the present invention, the base plate and the guide plate are arranged so that the positions of the insertion hole and the corresponding guide hole are shifted in the horizontal direction, and the main body of the contact probe is bent. It is mentioned that it is held in a state.

  According to this configuration, the main body portion of the contact probe is held in a bent state between the base plate and the guide plate, so that the bending direction of the main body portion can be reliably maintained in a certain direction. Moreover, since the direction in which each contact probe bends can be reliably aligned in a certain direction, it is possible to prevent adjacent probes from contacting each other.

  The electronic component inspection method of the present invention is a method using a probe card in which a plurality of contact probes are arranged in a vertical direction. According to the electronic component inspection method of the present invention, the probe card is arranged in parallel with a gap between the contact probe of the present invention described above, a base plate that vertically supports the contact probe, and the base plate. And a guide plate for guiding the part. The base plate has an insertion hole through which the support portion of the contact probe is inserted and fixed. The guide plate has a guide hole through which an intermediate portion of the main body of the contact probe is slidably inserted. And it is characterized by comprising a contact process, a shifting process, and a pressing process. In the contact step, the probe card is lowered in the vertical direction, and the contact portion of the contact probe is brought into contact with the electrode pad of the electronic component. In the shifting step, after the contact portion is brought into contact with the electrode pad, the guide plate is moved in the horizontal direction, and the positions of the insertion hole of the base plate and the guide hole of the guide plate corresponding thereto are shifted in the horizontal direction. In the pressing step, the probe card is further lowered in the vertical direction while the guide plate is shifted in the horizontal direction, and the contact portion is pressed against the electrode pad.

  According to the electronic component inspection method of the present invention, after the contact portion of the contact probe is brought into contact with the electrode pad, the main body of the contact probe is reliably bent by shifting the guide plate in the horizontal direction with respect to the base plate. Therefore, the contact probe can surely have a spring function. Then, by pressing the contact portion of the contact probe against the electrode pad with the guide plate shifted in the horizontal direction, a predetermined contact pressure can be applied between the electrode pad and the electrode pad. Electrical contact can be obtained. Moreover, since the direction in which the main body portion bends coincides with the direction of movement of the guide plate and the direction in which each contact probe bends can be reliably aligned in a certain direction, it is possible to prevent adjacent probes from contacting each other.

  The contact probe of the present invention has a linear shape as a whole, can be mounted at high density, is excellent in productivity, and has few manufacturing restrictions. The probe card of the present invention includes the above-described contact probe of the present invention, so that the mounting density of the probes can be increased and the pitch between electrode pads can be increased. The electronic component inspection method of the present invention can reliably provide a spring function to a contact probe while using a linear contact probe.

It is a figure explaining an example of the contact probe which concerns on this invention, (A) is a schematic plan view, (B) is a schematic side view. It is the figure which expanded the front-end | tip part of the contact probe shown in FIG. 1, (A) is a schematic plan view, (B) is a schematic side view. It is the schematic explaining an example of the probe card which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic explaining the inspection method of the electronic component using the probe card | curd shown in FIG. 3, (A) shows the state which made the contact part of a contact probe contact the electrode pad of an electronic component, (B) is a contact part. The state which pressed to the electrode pad is shown. It is the schematic explaining another example of the probe card based on this invention. It is the schematic explaining the inspection method of the electronic component using the probe card shown in FIG. 5, (A) shows the state which made the contact part of a contact probe contact the electrode pad of an electronic component, (B) is a contact part. The state which pressed to the electrode pad is shown. It is a figure for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the contact probe which concerns on this invention, and is a schematic plan view of a metal structure. FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged schematic plan view of the metal structure shown in FIG. 7.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals in the figure indicate the same names.

<Contact probe>
An example of a contact probe according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The contact probe 10 is a vertical contact probe that is in perpendicular contact with an electrode pad of an electronic component, and is made of metal having an overall shape of a straight line and a substantially square cross section as shown in FIG. The contact probe 10 includes a linear and elastic main body 13, a tip 11 formed on one end of the main body 13, and a support 12 formed on the other end of the main body 13. . The tip portion 11 has a contact portion 101 that contacts an electrode pad of an electronic component. The support part 12 has a connection part 102 connected to the inspection apparatus. 1 and 2, the length direction is a direction along the linear direction of the main body 13 (a direction from one end side to the other end side of the main body portion 13) when the contact probe is viewed in plan view. The thickness direction is a direction orthogonal to both the length direction and the width direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the distal end portion 11 extends in the extending direction from one end side of the main body portion 13, and the distal end becomes the contact portion 101. The tip portion 11 is formed so as to be shifted in the width direction with respect to the main body portion 13 so that a part of the tip portion 11 overlaps with the main body portion 13 in the extending direction, and the central axis of the tip portion 11 is the main body portion. 13 parallel to the central axis. Further, the distal end portion 11 is narrower and thinner than the main body portion 13 and is formed thinner than the main body portion 13.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the support portion 12 extends in the extending direction from the other end side of the main body portion 13, and is arranged linearly along the length direction of the main body portion 13 in this example.

  On the side surface of the main body portion 13 on the support portion 12 side, there is a stopper 131 that protrudes in the width direction. The stop portion 131 is formed in a tapered shape so that the width becomes narrower toward the tip end portion 11 side. The stopper 131 comes into contact with the lower surface of a base plate 41 (see FIG. 3) of the probe card 40A described later. In this example, another stopper part 132 similar to the stopper part 131 is provided at an interval in the axial direction of the main body part 13, and this stopper part 132 is an auxiliary plate 42 of the probe card 40A described later. (See FIG. 3).

  On the side surface of the support portion 12, there is an extended portion 121 that protrudes in the width direction with respect to the main body portion 13. The extended portion 121 comes into contact with the upper surface of a base plate 41 (see FIG. 3) of a probe card 40A described later. In this example, a connection portion 102 is provided at an end portion of the support portion 12 opposite to the side continuous with the main body portion 13, and this portion is a printed wiring board (not shown) connected to the inspection apparatus. And electrically connected to the inspection apparatus via the printed wiring board.

  As a metal material for forming the contact probe 10, for example, nickel (Ni) or a nickel alloy can be used. Nickel alloys include nickel-manganese (Ni-Mn) alloy, nickel-iron (Ni-Fe) alloy, nickel-cobalt (Ni-Co) alloy, nickel-tungsten (Ni-W) alloy, nickel-palladium (Ni -Pd) alloys and the like.

  A plating layer is formed on the surface of the contact probe 10. As a material for forming the plating layer, rhodium (Rh), gold (Au), copper (Cu), or the like can be used. When the plating layer is formed of Rh, the slidability of the contact probe can be improved. When formed of Au, the corrosion resistance and solderability can be improved. When formed of Cu, the conductivity is improved. Can be made. The thickness of the plating layer may be determined according to the intended use and required characteristics.

  In this example, the contact probe 10 has a length L10 of about 8 mm, a length L11 of the tip 11 of about 0.15 mm, and a length L12 of the support 12 of about 0.65 mm. The distance d23 between the extended portion 121 and the stopper portion 131 is about 0.50 mm, and the distance d33 between the stopper portion 131 and the stopper portion 132 is about 0.55 mm. The cross section (width × thickness) of the main body 13 is about 0.035 mm × about 0.04 mm, and the cross section of the tip 11 is about 0.025 mm × about 0.025 mm. In addition, the distance e11 between the side surface of the main body portion 13 on the same side in the width direction as the side where the tip end portion 11 is shifted and the side surface where the tip end portion 11 is shifted with respect to the main body portion 13 is about 0.010 mm It is.

  The contact probe 10 is manufactured by the LIGA method. Further, the tip portion 11 is formed to be thin by, for example, electric discharge machining (EDM: Electrical Discharge Machining).

<Probe card>
An example of a probe card according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the probe card 40A has a plurality of contact probes arranged in the vertical direction. The probe card 40A includes the above-described contact probe 10, a base plate 41 that supports the contact probe 10 vertically, and a guide that guides the tip 11 of the contact probe 10 that is arranged in parallel with the base plate 41 with a space therebetween. A plate 43 is provided. The base plate 41 has an insertion hole 401 into which the support portion 12 of the contact probe 10 is inserted and fixed. Further, the guide plate 43 has a guide hole 403 through which an intermediate portion of the main body 13 of the contact probe 10 is slidably inserted.

  The base plate 41 is provided with insertion holes 401 corresponding to the plurality of contact probes 10, the contact probes 10 are arranged vertically, and the connection portions 102 of the contact probes 10 protrude from the upper surface of the base plate 41. The insertion hole 401 is formed to have substantially the same size as the cross-sectional size of the main body 13 of the contact probe 10 so that the contact probe 10 can be inserted. In this example, the auxiliary plate 42 is arranged parallel to the lower side of the base plate 41 with an interval, and the auxiliary plate 42 is also provided with an insertion hole 402 similar to the insertion hole 401 of the base plate 41. Yes. The insertion hole 402 is formed at the same position in the vertical direction as the position of the insertion hole 401 so as to correspond to the insertion hole 401, and the main body portion 13 of the contact probe 10 is inserted therethrough.

  The guide plate 43 is provided with guide holes 403 corresponding to the plurality of contact probes 10, and the guide holes 403 are provided at positions corresponding to the positions of the electrode pads 61 of the electronic component 60. Further, the guide hole 403 is formed to be slightly larger than the cross-sectional size of the main body 13 of the contact probe 10 so that the contact probe 10 can slide. In this example, the base plate 41 and the guide plate 43 are arranged so that the positions of the insertion holes 401 and the corresponding guide holes 403 are aligned in the vertical direction, and the guide plate 43 is provided so as to be movable in the horizontal direction. ing. When the contact portion 101 of the contact probe 10 is brought into contact with and pressed against the electrode pad 61, the guide plate 43 is displaced in the horizontal direction with respect to the base plate 41, so that the main body portion 13 of the contact probe 10 is reliably bent. I can do it. Further, the direction in which the main body portion 13 bends coincides with the moving direction of the guide plate 43, and the direction in which each contact probe 10 bends can be surely aligned in a certain direction, so that adjacent probes 10 are in contact with each other. Can be prevented.

  The base plate 41, the auxiliary plate 42, and the guide plate 43 are formed of an insulating material. For example, a resin such as a polyimide resin or a phenol resin, glass, ceramics, silicon, or the like can be used. The thickness of each plate is about 0.5 mm.

  The contact probe 10 is mounted on the probe card 40A from the tip 11 side of the contact probe 10 through the insertion hole 401 of the base plate 41 and the insertion hole 402 of the auxiliary plate 42, and also through the insertion hole 403 of the guide plate 43. To do. Specifically, the insertion hole 401 and the insertion hole 402 are formed as long holes in a direction perpendicular to the width direction of the contact probe 10 (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface) in FIG. Then, when inserting the probe 10 into the insertion hole 401 and the insertion hole 402, the probe 10 is rotated after the width direction of the probe 10 is directed in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface, and the width direction of the probe 10 is changed. It is facing left and right on the page. When the contact probe 10 is arranged on the probe card 40A, the stopper 131 and the stopper 132 are in contact with the lower surfaces of the base plate 41 and the auxiliary plate 42, and the extended portion 121 is in contact with the upper surface of the base plate. The support plate 12 of the contact probe 10 is mechanically fixed to the base plate 41 by fitting the base plate 41 between the extended portion 121 and the stopper portion 131. The support portion 12 of the contact probe 10 can be fixed to the insertion hole 401 with solder or an adhesive.

  The contact probe 10 has a linear shape as a whole and can be mounted at high density. Further, since the stopper part 131 and the stopper part 132 are formed in a tapered shape, when the contact probe 10 is mounted on the probe card 40A, the insertion hole 401 and the insertion hole 402 are inserted from the distal end part 11 side of the contact probe 10. Easy to insert into. Since the stop portion 131 is in contact with the lower surface of the base plate 41, the support portion 12 can be prevented from coming off from the insertion hole 401 when the contact portion 101 of the contact probe 10 is brought into contact with the electrode pad 61 and pressed. . Since the extended portion 121 is in contact with the upper surface of the base plate 41, the support portion 12 can be prevented from dropping out of the insertion hole 401. Further, since the positions of the insertion hole 401 and the insertion hole 402 and the corresponding guide hole 403 are aligned in the vertical direction, when the contact probe 10 is mounted on the probe card 40A, the contact probe 10 is inserted into the insertion hole 401 and It is easy to insert through the insertion hole 402 and the guide hole 403.

<Electronic component inspection method>
An electronic component inspection method using the probe card 40A will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4 (A), the probe card 40A (base plate 41, auxiliary plate 42 and guide plate 43) is lowered in the vertical direction so that the contact portion 101 of the contact probe 10 contacts the electrode pad 61 of the electronic component 60. (Contact process). After the contact portion 101 is brought into contact with the electrode pad 61, the guide plate 43 is moved in the horizontal direction so that the positions of the insertion holes 401 of the base plate 41 and the guide holes 403 of the guide plate 43 corresponding thereto are moved in the horizontal direction. Shift (shift process). In this example, the direction of movement of the guide plate 43 at this time is the direction of the arrow in FIG. It is. Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, with the guide plate 43 shifted in the horizontal direction, the probe card 40A is further lowered in the vertical direction to press the contact portion 101 against the electrode pad 61 (pressing step). ).

  In the electronic component inspection method described above, the contact probe 10 is moved horizontally with respect to the base plate 41 after the contact portion 101 of the contact probe 10 is brought into contact with the electrode pad 61 of the electronic component 60. The main body 13 can be reliably bent, and the contact probe 10 can be reliably provided with a spring function. A predetermined contact pressure can be applied between the electrode pad 61 and the electrode pad 61 by pressing the contact portion 101 against the electrode pad 61 with the guide plate 43 shifted in the horizontal direction. Reliable electrical contact can be obtained. In this example, the amount of deflection of the contact probe 10 can be adjusted by the amount of movement of the guide plate 43, that is, the amount of displacement in the horizontal direction between the insertion hole 401 and the corresponding guide hole 403. It is also possible to control the contact pressure between.

(Modification)
With reference to FIG. 5, another example of the probe card according to the present invention will be described. The basic configuration of the probe card 40B is the same as that of the probe card 40A shown in FIG. 3, and the difference from the probe card 40A will be mainly described here.

  In the probe card 40B, the base plate 41 and the guide plate 43 are arranged so that the positions of the insertion hole 401 and the corresponding guide hole 403 are shifted in the horizontal direction, and the main body portion 13 of the contact probe 10 is bent. Held in a state. Since the main body portion 13 of the contact probe 10 is held in a bent state between the base plate 41 and the guide plate 43, the bending direction of the main body portion 10 can be reliably maintained in a certain direction. Further, since the direction in which each contact probe 10 bends can be reliably aligned in a certain direction, it is possible to prevent adjacent probes from contacting each other.

  The contact probe 10 is mounted on the probe card 40B by, for example, placing the base plate 41, the auxiliary plate 42, and the guide plate 43, and the positions of the insertion hole 401, the insertion hole 402, and the corresponding guide hole 403 in the horizontal direction. It arranges beforehand so that it may shift. Then, the contact probe 10 is inserted into the insertion hole 401 and the insertion hole 402 from the distal end side, bent in the middle, and inserted into the insertion hole 403. Alternatively, the base plate 41, the auxiliary plate 42, and the guide plate 43 are arranged so that the positions of the insertion hole 401, the insertion hole 402, and the corresponding guide hole 403 are aligned in the vertical direction. Then, the contact probe 10 may be inserted into the insertion hole 401 and the insertion hole 402 from the distal end side, and after being inserted into the insertion hole 403, the guide plate 43 may be shifted in the horizontal direction with respect to the base plate 41 and the auxiliary plate 42. . In the latter case, the contact hole 10 is inserted into the insertion hole 401, the insertion hole 402, and the guide hole 403 by aligning the insertion hole 401 and the insertion hole 402 with the corresponding guide hole 403 in the vertical direction. Easy to do.

  An electronic component inspection method using the probe card 40B will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 6A, the probe card 40B (base plate 41, auxiliary plate 42 and guide plate 43) is lowered in the vertical direction so that the contact portion 101 of the contact probe 10 contacts the electrode pad 61 of the electronic component 60. Let As it is, the probe card 40A is lowered in the vertical direction, and the contact portion 101 is pressed against the electrode pad 61.

  In the electronic component inspection method described above, the contact probe 10 has a spring function with certainty because the body 13 of the contact probe 10 is held between the base plate 41 and the guide plate 43 in a bent state. Can be made. In this example, the amount of deflection of the contact probe 10 can be adjusted by the amount of horizontal displacement between the insertion hole 401 and the corresponding guide hole 403, and the contact pressure with the electrode pad 61 is controlled. It is also possible.

<Contact probe manufacturing method>
A method for manufacturing the contact probe 10 will be described. In this manufacturing method, a metal structure 1 in which a contact probe 10 and a tie bar 20 are integrated by a connecting portion 30 is formed by the LIGA method (see FIGS. 7 and 8), and a plating layer is formed on the surface of the metal structure 1 Then, the contact probe 10 is manufactured by separating the contact probe 10 from the metal structure 1.

  A resin mold of the metal structure 1 is obtained by forming a pattern of the metal structure 1 on the resist formed on the conductive substrate by lithography. Specifically, by placing a mask having a pattern of the metal structure 1 on a resist formed on a conductive substrate and irradiating UV or X-rays through the mask, the metal structure is applied to the resist. A pattern corresponding to the shape of 1 is formed. The pattern of the metal structure 1 is based on the contact probe 10 pattern, the frame-shaped tie bar 20 pattern surrounding the contact pattern 10 and the pattern of the connecting portion 30 connecting these two patterns. It is continuous. In this example, 80 basic patterns are formed in one resist, and 80 contact probes 10 are formed in the metal structure 1.

  As the conductive substrate, for example, a metal substrate made of copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), stainless steel, or the like can be used. Alternatively, a silicon substrate on which a metal such as titanium (Ti) or chromium (Cr) is sputtered can be used. As the resist, a resin mainly composed of polymethacrylate such as polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), or a chemically amplified resin sensitive to ultraviolet rays (UV) or X-rays can be used. The thickness of the resist is set according to the thickness of the metal structure (contact probe) to be formed. For lithography, it is preferable to use X-rays (wavelength 0.4 nm) having a shorter wavelength than UV (wavelength 200 nm), and it is more preferable to use synchrotron radiation (SR) X-rays having high directivity among X-rays. .

  The mask is formed with a pattern according to the shape of the metal structure, and is composed of an absorption layer such as UV or X-ray and a translucent substrate. In the case of an X-ray mask, silicon nitride (SiN), silicon (Si), diamond, titanium (Ti) or the like can be used as the translucent substrate, and in the case of a UV mask, quartz glass or the like is used. be able to. In the case of an X-ray mask, the absorption layer can be made of heavy metal such as gold (Au), tungsten (W), tantalum (Ta) or a compound thereof, and in the case of a UV mask, chromium (Cr ) Etc. can be used. When a positive resist is used, the exposed portion of the resist is altered by UV or X-ray irradiation, so that the exposed portion is removed by development and the non-exposed portion remains, thereby obtaining a resin mold. . On the other hand, when a negative resist is used, the exposed portion remains and the non-exposed portion is removed, so that a pattern opposite to that of the positive resist is formed using the mask.

  A layer made of a metal material is formed on the resin mold by electroforming, and the metal structure 1 in which the contact probe 10 and the tie bar 20 are integrated by the connecting portion 30 is formed. In this example, in the metal structure 1, three rectangular protrusions 22 are provided on the tie bar 20 on the upper side, and attachment holes 220 are formed in the protrusions 22, respectively. The protrusions 22 having the mounting holes 220 are also formed by patterning by lithography and simultaneously by electroforming.

  Next, the resin mold and the conductive substrate are removed. The resin mold can be removed by, for example, wet etching or plasma etching. The conductive substrate can be removed mechanically in addition to being removed by wet etching with acid or alkali, for example. If necessary, the surface of the metal structure 1 is polished to adjust the contact probe 10 to a predetermined thickness.

  Next, a plating layer is formed on the surface of the metal structure 1 by electroplating. In this example, a power supply jig is attached to the attachment hole 220 of the tie bar 20, the metal structure 1 is placed in a plating tank, and immersed in a plating bath to perform electroplating.

  After plating, the metal structure 1 is taken out of the plating tank and washed, and then the connection probe 30 is cut to separate the contact probes 10 from the metal structure 1, whereby a plurality of contact probes 10 are obtained.

  In the manufacturing method described above, the tie bar 20 can be used as a dummy cathode by forming the metal structure 1 and performing electroplating on the metal structure 1. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the current from being concentrated on the corner portion of the contact probe 10 and to make the current distribution uniform. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the plating layer from becoming thick at the corners of the contact probe 10, and to reduce the variation in the thickness of the plating layer. Furthermore, by providing the mounting hole 220 of the power feeding jig on the tie bar 20, the mounting accuracy of the power feeding jig is improved, and the arrangement position of the metal structure 1 can be accurately positioned with respect to the plating tank, Reproducibility is improved. Further, by forming a plurality of basic patterns for one resist, a metal structure 1 having a plurality of contact probes 10 can be formed, and a plurality of contact probes 10 can be manufactured at a time. Excellent in mass productivity.

  The contact probe 10 described above has a linear shape as a whole, is excellent in productivity, and has few manufacturing restrictions.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the Example mentioned above, In the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention, it can change suitably.

  The contact probe, probe card, and electronic component inspection method of the present invention can be suitably used for inspection of electronic components.

10 Contact probe
11 Tip 12 Support 13 Body
101 Contact 102 Connection
131,132 Stop part 121 Extended part
40A, 40B probe card
41 Base plate 42 Auxiliary plate 43 Guide plate
401,402 Insertion hole 403 Guide hole
60 Electronic components 61 Electrode pads
1 Metal structure
20 tie bars
22 Projection piece 220 Mounting hole
30 Connecting part

Claims (8)

A contact probe used for inspecting an electronic component and electrically connecting the inspection device and the electronic component in contact with the electrode pad of the electronic component perpendicularly,
A linear and elastic body,
A tip portion formed on one end side of the main body portion and having a contact portion in contact with the electrode pad;
A support portion having a connection portion formed on the other end side of the main body portion and connected to the inspection device;
The contact probe according to claim 1, wherein the tip portion is formed to be shifted in the width direction with respect to the main body portion. On the side surface of the main body portion on the support portion side, there is a stopper portion that protrudes in the width direction and contacts the lower surface of the base plate of the probe card,
The contact probe according to claim 1, wherein the stopper portion is formed in a tapered shape so that the width becomes narrower toward the tip end side.   3. The contact probe according to claim 1, further comprising an extended portion that protrudes in a width direction with respect to the main body portion and contacts an upper surface of a base plate of a probe card on a side surface of the support portion.   The contact probe according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the tip portion is formed thin with respect to the main body portion. A probe card used for inspecting electronic components, in which a plurality of contact probes are arranged vertically,
The contact probe according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A base plate that has an insertion hole through which the support portion of the contact probe is inserted and fixed, and supports the contact probe vertically;
A guide plate that is arranged in parallel with the base plate with a gap, has a guide hole through which a middle portion of the main body of the contact probe is slidably inserted, and guides the tip of the contact probe. A probe card characterized by The base plate and the guide plate are arranged so that the positions of the insertion holes and the corresponding guide holes are aligned in the vertical direction,
The probe card according to claim 5, wherein the guide plate is provided so as to be movable in a horizontal direction. The base plate and the guide plate are arranged such that the positions of the insertion hole and the corresponding guide hole are shifted in the horizontal direction,
The probe card according to claim 5, wherein the main body of the contact probe is held in a bent state. A method for inspecting an electronic component using a probe card in which a plurality of contact probes are arranged in a vertical direction,
The probe card is
The contact probe according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A base plate that has an insertion hole through which the support portion of the contact probe is inserted and fixed, and supports the contact probe vertically;
A guide plate that is arranged in parallel with the base plate at a distance, has a guide hole through which an intermediate portion of the main body of the contact probe is slidably inserted, and guides the tip of the contact probe. ,
A contact step of lowering the probe card in a vertical direction and contacting a contact portion of the contact probe with an electrode pad of the electronic component;
After bringing the contact portion into contact with the electrode pad, the guide plate is moved in the horizontal direction, and the positions of the insertion holes of the base plate and the guide holes of the guide plate corresponding thereto are shifted in the horizontal direction. Process,
An electronic component inspection method comprising: a step of pressing the contact portion against the electrode pad by further lowering the probe card in a vertical direction while the guide plate is shifted in the horizontal direction .

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